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fare: American (AA) IC2GLE NYC to LAX

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $455 ($401 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: -/-
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations are required at least 21 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: -/-
• Maximum stay: -/-
• Stopovers: not permitted.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: changes permitted for reissue/revalidation.

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fare: American (AA) INX0DCN7 JKT to NYC

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $2,791 ($2,495 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: permitted MON through THU on each transatlantic sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: -/-
• Minimum stay: 3 days.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: 1 free stopover permitted in DOH.
• Cancellations: charge $250 for cancel/refund.
• Changes: Changes permitted.

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It turns out that this past Monday, May 1, was a public holiday in Brazil, and I procrastinated too long to buy a one-way fare from Rio’s domestic airport SDU to Sao Paulo’s international airport GRU, where I had a flight out to Europe.

These one-way fares between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are anywhere from $50 to $150, depending on when you buy, and often cheaper if your start or end at one of the international airports (GRU/GIG) and not local tones (CGH/SDU).

The one-way fares were high and expensive on local Brazilian websites, although a bit less (in the $350 range).

I was then monitoring GOL availability using AAdvantage, but nothing opened up. Their award availability using AA miles seems good a week or longer out but is often very sparse at the last minute.

Nothing was available at first on Azul either, but then something opened up that I quickly ticketed using United Miles.

Conclusion

I used AA miles for GOL Sao Paulo (GRU) – Florianopolis (FLN) – Buenos Aires (AEP) and Mendoza (MDZ) – Sao Paulo (GRU) – Rio de Janeiro (SDU) flights that were pretty good value as well, but I did not record the cash prices at the time.

Redeeming was not available or didn’t make sense for AEP-SCL (Aerolineas) or SCL-MDZ (Latam) segments due to reasonable ticket prices.

I often mix and match paid and award tickets to stitch my itineraries together and tend to buy or redeem short-haul flights two to four weeks out, and I like the flexibility that both AA and UA have for award tickets.

Last year, a GOL agent claimed I missed the check-in deadline at Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro and asked me to go to their ticketing desk (what could they have done for the AA award ticket?). I just opened the AA app and canceled and refunded the tickets. Then, I opened the UA app, booked two tickets on Azul for two hours later, and walked to their desk to check in.

American Airlines has now made Etihad Airways awards available on AA.com, and the only partner left, whose award you need to call in, is China Southern Airlines.

You can access AA’s page for partners here.

AA Award Search:

Partner awards available on AA’s website:

• Air Tahiti Nui
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• British Airways
• Cape Air
• Cathay Pacific
• Etihad Airways
• Fiji Airways
• Finnair
• GOL Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Iberia
• Japan Airlines
• JetBlue
• Malaysia Airlines
• Qantas Airways
• Qatar Airways
• Royal Air Maroc
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• Silver Airways
• SriLankan Airlines

Awards NOT Available On American’s Website:

• China Southern Airlines

Conclusion

It is fantastic that you can now book Etihad Airways awards on AA’s website because many, myself included, rather book online than call AAdvantage support.

Let’s see how long it takes AA to get that last partner, China Southern Airlines, awards available online.

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fare: American (AA) INX0DCN7 JKT to NYC

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $2,751 ($2,590 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: permitted MON through THU on each transatlantic sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: -/-
• Minimum stay: 3 days or until the first Sunday from departure.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: 1 free stopover permitted.
• Cancellations: charge $250 for cancel/no-show/refund.
• Changes: charge permitted for reissue/revalidation.

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fare: American (AA) INX9C1S4 BCN to SFO

• Booking class: I
• Price: from 1,708€ (1,584€ base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: permitted MON/TUE/WED/SUN on each transatlantic sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations required at least 120 days before departure. Ticketing must be completed within 3 days after reservations are made.
• Minimum stay: until the first Sunday after arrival at turnaround.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: unlimited stopovers permitted in Europe at 150€ each.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: charge 200€ for reissue/revalidation.

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American Airlines only lists “starting” prices for awards on its flights, and only the sky is the limit for the number of miles required. These changes don’t yet affect partner awards that surely are on the chopping block next.

You can access American Airlines here.

There is also a significant change for AAdvantage members that have flown with the airline from, i.e. Europe to South America or South America to Asia. All awards that require two long-haul flights are priced separately (the price in miles doubles or triples).

You cannot make voluntary changes to existing awards, but you must cancel and rebook.

American Airlines AAdvantage Award Chart April 5, 2023

American Airlines AAdvantage Award Chart Until April 5, 2023

Conclusion

You shouldn’t be using AAdvantage miles for American Airlines awards when it comes to international long-haul travel. I have burned millions of AAdvantage miles over the years for many memorable trips on partners (remember those around the world business class awards?).

I still find my AA miles to be quite valuable for partners, and I have a couple of otherwise expensive one-ways in South America coming up this month that I burned AAdvantage miles for (GOL flights).

You shouldn’t be swiping airline-related credit card cards for purchases beyond meeting the initial bonus, and people should evaluate their “addiction” to miles and points and “free” travel in general.

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fare: American (AA) QNN5NHI1 LAX to SJO

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $983 ($838 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: -/-
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations required at least 50 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: 24 hours.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: no stopovers permitted.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable.
• Changes: changes permitted.

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The argument was initially over a First Class passenger who asked the crew if it was possible to downgrade to Economy so she could sit with her husband but the crew member in Economy then objected, and all hell broke loose.

SkyWest Airlines is an U.S. regional airline headquartered in Utah, United States, and (like many other regional carriers) contracted by the large legacy airlines to staff, operate and maintain aircraft used on flights that are scheduled, marketed, and sold by said mainline carriers.

I’ve flown with them many times, and SkyWest operates flights for American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.

NBC reported that the airline is now investigating how the argument between two flight attendants led to a flight being over an hour late after a crew swap was required.

An internal investigation is underway after a spat between two flight attendants led to a delayed takeoff, left one of them in tears and culminated in both leaving the plane.

The American Airlines flight 4860, operated by SkyWest Airlines as American Eagle, was set to take off from Los Angeles for Houston on Saturday afternoon when the argument turned the trip sour.

ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor and reporter Ashley Brewer shared a TikTok video describing the ordeal, saying the fight stemmed from a first-class passenger requesting to switch seats with someone in coach so she could sit next to her husband.

A male flight attendant agreed to allow her to switch, but a female flight attendant argued it was against the rules, according to Brewer.

Brewer said the first-class passenger was seated next to her and was fine with not moving, but the argument between the flight attendants escalated.

“Well for some reason the flight attendants were not fine, and they kept bickering and going back and forth in the middle of the aisle about the rules, what was right and what was wrong,” Brewer said. “They just had some beef or something, so they kept going back and forth and he started yelling at her. He was really, like, out of line. He should not have done that.”

The female flight attendant ran to the front of the plane and ended up crying, Brewer said. She said she went up to the female flight attendant to check in on her and the flight attendant allegedly said “I’m not flying with him.”

The pilots and flight crew came out and tried to talk to the two flight attendants, but ultimately both flight attendants left the plane. …

Eventually, the flight was delayed by one hour and took off from Los Angeles International Airport at 2:04 p.m. local time; it landed in Houston around 7 p.m. local time. …

Has everybody gone completely crazy now? Needless to say, someone who throws a tantrum that easily when dealing with a colleague should not be working as a flight attendant, especially as airlines always like to highlight that the cabin crew is there for the passenger’s safety.

Here are some posts by Ashley, the ESPN anchor who witnessed the scene on the flight:

A lady in first class asked to switch seats with a guy in coach so she could sit by her husband. One attendant said yes, other said no not allowed. Turned into a heated argument. SO DUMB

— Ashley Brewer (@ESPNAshley) March 12, 2023

And a report about the situation:

Hard to say what exactly the problem was and why a passenger downgrading into Economy or swapping seats with someone was such a big deal for the crew member working in the coach cabin.

The only legitimate reason to refuse it on these small planes is when the pilots object due to weight/balance issues, but from all that was reported here, the pilots weren’t even consulted.

Asking if it’s possible to sit in another seat isn’t exactly a rare occasion. Still, the passenger could have probably handled this at the check-in, Admirals Club or the gate at LAX rather than trying to solve the voluntary downgrade situation on board.

Maybe she received the upgrade automatically as AAdvantage Elite in which case someone at the check-in desk could have just downgraded her and seated the couple together in the Y cabin. Or another scenario is that she was on a flight booked by her employer, and they bought First Class in which case it’s probably better to just sit there and be happy your company still pays for premium cabins. Either way, such requests are made every day, and it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

Conclusion

An altercation between two flight attendants working for SkyWest Airlines, a regional carrier that operated an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Houston ended up delaying a flight for over an hour as the airline was forced to replace the two crew members. The argument was over whether or not the First Class cabin attendant should have allowed one of the passengers upfront to move to Economy to sit next to her husband. Wow, just nuts!

SkyWest will probably come down hard on at least one of the two crew members, probably the woman working in Economy who kicked of the whole situation. Either she’ll get fired or maybe just reprimanded, and the union will get her off somehow. I always liked flying SkyWest, mostly out of LAX up and down the West Coast. I never really had a problem with any of their crews, quite the contrary. I guess there are just a few nutjobs everywhere these days and that includes the flight crew pool (which really isn’t very assuring).

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IN CASSE YOU MISSED IT!

Flight Review: British Airways B787-9 World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy BA 73 LHR-AUH)

fare: American (AA) OLX8C1P4 LON to NYC

• Booking class: P
• Price: from £670 (£401 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: -/-
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: reservations required at least 28 days before departure.
• Minimum stay: until the first Saturday after arrival at turnaround (minimum 24 hours)
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: 1 free stopover permitted.
• Cancellations: ticket is non-refundable in case of cancel/no-show/refund.
• Changes: charge £50.00 for reissue/revalidation.

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American Airlines allows AAdvantage members to buy up to 150,000 miles before bonuses. The limit is occasionally increased. The account that purchases or receives the miles must have been open for at least 30 days.

You can access this offer on AA’s website here.

Here’s the discount table:

The price of 150,000 miles at 45% off:

The price of an AAdvantage mile at 45% off is 2.07 cents each.

The lowest price for AAdvantage miles sold in 2020 was 1.72 cents, in 2021 1.77 cents, and in 2022 1.88 cents.

Conclusion

You can likely buy AAdvantage miles at a lower price later in 2023 when they have either a 100% bonus or a 50% discount.

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fare: American (AA) INX0DCN7 JKT to NYC

• Booking class: I
• Price: from $2,737 ($2,495 base fare + taxes & surcharges).
• Day/time restrictions: permitted MON through THU on each transatlantic sector.
• Advanced reservation/ticketing restrictions: -/-
• Minimum stay: 3 days.
• Maximum stay: 12 months.
• Stopovers: 1 free stopover permitted in DOH.
• Cancellations: charge $250 for cancel/refund.
• Changes: Changes permitted.

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This fare can be booked on American Airlines:

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His successor will be 56-year-old Boeing Executive Greg Smith, who joined the American Board of Directors just a year ago in January 2022.

In the aviation world, Doug Parker is a controversial executive who has seen pretty much everything in his 20+ years stretch leading America West, US Airways and American Airlines.

Some say that his tenure at each of these companies wasn’t exactly to the benefit of the customer experience, as Parker drove a hard bargain and tightened the screws on all of these carriers to cut costs and improve profitability. While that might be true, that’s pretty much the job of the Chief Executive.

In March of 2022, Parker passed the torch of the CEO Role over to Robert Isom who has led the airline since then:

Leadership Change At American Airlines

Following the leadership transition, Parker became Chairman of the board for a year and is now ready to retire from American Airlines at the age of 61.

American Airlines released the following press statement:

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) today announced that Greg Smith has been named independent chairman of the company’s board of directors, effective April 30, 2023. Smith, 56, will succeed Doug Parker, who will retire from the board at that time. Smith’s appointment is part of the board’s long-term succession planning process.

“Our CEO transition has been flawless thanks to the great work of Robert Isom, his team and our board,” said Parker. “Now is the right time for our chairman transition and we are fortunate to have Greg Smith in place to assume that role. Greg has made outstanding contributions since joining American’s board, and his strong knowledge of the aviation industry and his decades of leadership experience will be invaluable going forward.”

Smith joined American’s board in January 2022 after a more than 30-year career at The Boeing Company. He most recently served as Boeing’s Executive Vice President and CFO, leading the company’s Enterprise Operations, Finance, Strategy and Shared Services organizations. He managed Boeing’s overall financial activities and had oversight of the company’s manufacturing, operations, supply chain, quality and program management teams.

“It’s an honor and privilege to serve as a board member and now as chairman of this iconic company,” said Smith. “Due to the leadership and dedication of Doug, Robert and the entire American team, we are well-positioned to take the airline to the next level of excellence. The board and I look forward to working with Robert and this great team as we lead American Airlines into the future.”

“The American Airlines team will be forever grateful to Doug for building our airline into what it is today,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “On a personal note, I’m thankful for Doug’s partnership over the past year as I took on the CEO role. I look forward to continuing to work with the board and Greg in his new role as we shape the American Airlines of the future.” …

Here is Parker’s profile, and no matter if you like the guy or not, it is rather impressive:

This will conclude Doug Parker’s career at American Airlines and the airlines that eventually ended up as the American we know today.

It’s unlikely that his departure as Chairman of the Board at this point will have any significant impact on the company compared to when he changed from the CEO to the Chairman role. The new Chief Executive Robert Isom who is an AA veteran has been at the helm for a year now.

He’ll probably retain and obtain some more board seats in the next few years as a cushy side gig. Probably even another senior executive role at another company since 61 is really young in this day and age IF someone has the desire to keep working. Unlikely that he has to, considering the substantial remuneration as CEO of America’s major airlines for two decades.

Conclusion

Doug Parker will leave American Airlines as of April 30, 2023 when he passes the Chairman role to his successor.

I think it’s always easy for people to criticize company executives even if they themselves have little to no experience managing a large company. At the end of the day, these companies aren’t charities and the CEO serves the shareholders while answering to the board. Of course, that doesn’t mean that one should push the envelope too much and destroy the business by alienating customers, and pushing them to the competition.

Parker had a pretty good run as a top executive over two decades. I wonder if he will stay in this field and maybe be poached by another carrier (possibly one from the middle east) in the near future or if he’ll be taking it easy until full retirement.

Five people are reportedly injured and four hospitalized, including two bus passengers and three aviation workers. The aircraft did not transport any passengers at the time of the accident.

When the collision happened the plane was being towed by a tug vehicle with one worker on the aircraft who was treated for injuries.

The New York Times reported that operations at LAX remain largely unaffected as the